


Bursts of Stardust III

by Redrikki



Series: Bursts of Stardust [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Bullying, Gen, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-10-11 20:56:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17454167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redrikki/pseuds/Redrikki
Summary: A collection of short Star Wars fic based on tumblr prompts in 2019.Chapter 1) Why couldn't Qui-Gon have saddled him with a nice, normal padawan?Chapter 2) Anakin gains a new understanding of his mom.Chapter 3) It was a rare treat to spend the night in bed with her husband.Chapter 4) When breaking in a new Sith apprentice, it was so much easier to do nothing rather than something.Chapter 5) Anakin deals with bullies in his saber class.Chapter 6) Obi-Wan struggles to explain why Anakin is wrong.Chapter 7) Ahsoka returns home after the Padawan Lost arc.





	1. A Nice, Normal Padawan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why couldn't Qui-Gon have saddled him with a nice, normal padawan?

Why couldn’t Qui-Gon have saddled him with a nice, normal padawan? One who had been raised properly, at the Temple, and didn’t need to be trained to behave like a civilized person. Obi-Wan felt sure he could handle that. At least then he wouldn’t have to waste his time teaching his padawan how to meditate or find his way around or _bathe_. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Anakin, it was just that every single day brought one more moment where Obi-Wan wished he’d never met him.

Like now, for instance.

“What’s that? Over there?” asked a knight, nodding to where Anakin was attempting to take apart one of the cleaning droids with a screwdriver.

Obi-Wan could feel his face burning. If only the floor would swallow him or, better yet, Anakin.

“Don’t do that!” He swooped down on the boy, snatching the screwdriver from his hand. He’d already confiscated a handful of these, but somehow Anakin kept finding them. “We don’t take apart the cleaning droids! And we don’t steal tools!”

“I didn’t steal it,” Anakin protested, making a grab for the screwdriver, “and the droid asked me to help fix it.”

“I don’t care.” Obi-Wan struggled to keep his temper before the audience that had assembled. It was bad enough everyone knew his padawan couldn’t behave. He couldn’t afford to have them think the same of him. “If you are to stay at this Temple, you must comport yourself as a Jedi, not some junk shop technician.”

Someone tittered in the back of the crowd and Anakin curled in on himself. Good. Maybe that would teach him.

“Now wash the grease off your hands and go to class.”

“Yes, Master,” Anakin whispered, scurrying away liked a kicked cleaning droid.

Obi-Wan rubbed his forehead as their little audience started to disperse. Why couldn’t Qui-Gon have saddled him with a nice, normal padawan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the anonymous tumblr prompt “Whats that? Over there! Don’t do that!” & Obi-Wan. Original post is [here](http://redrikki.tumblr.com/post/182093110314/18-obi-wan)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on tumblr prompt: Anakin and "I think I'm becoming more like my mom" by runasyoulike. Original post is [here](http://redrikki.tumblr.com/post/182116544944/im-kind-of-caught-between-4-and-14-for-anakin).

Ahsoka didn’t look back as she walked down the stairs and out of Anakin’s life. It was all he could do not to chase after her and never let her go. Was this how his mother had felt, watching him leave with Master Jinn? He’d never quite appreciated the strength it must have taken until this very moment.

It was for the best. He just had to keep reminding himself of that. Ahsoka may be headed into an uncertain future without him there to guide and protect her, but at least she wasn’t headed to war. At least she wasn’t under the command of people who would gladly throw her to the rancors to score political points. Whatever happened to her from here on out, at least it would be better than that.

His mother must have had the same thoughts. At least he’ll be educated. At least he’ll have enough to eat. At least he won’t be a slave. She couldn’t have known he’d be sent to war and denied the right to love. Maybe she wouldn’t have made him go if she had, but maybe she still would have thought that his life here was better.

Anakin stood watching as Ahsoka disappeared into the crowd at the bottom of the steps and then stood and watched some more. How long had his mother stood after he had gone? He wrapped his arms around himself and missed them both.


	3. Life is a Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a rare treat to spend the night in bed with her husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for tumblr prompt Anakin & "My life is a freaking nightmare." Original post is [here](http://redrikki.tumblr.com/post/182169736324/17-anakin).

It was a rare treat to spend the night in bed with her husband. Padmé and Anakin had been married for nearly a year and had spent less than a month’s worth of it anywhere near each other. It was all just stolen moments and endearments whispered over holocalls. This time together was a delight. A privilege. Something to be treasured. At least that’s what Padmé told herself as Anakin tossed and muttered beside her.

It wasn’t so bad, really, as long as she kept to the far side of the bed and pulled her pillow up around her ears. Her sister’s husband snored. Loudly. If Sola could live with that every single night, then Padmé could put up with this on the rare nights they spent together. It was barely once a month, after all, and he couldn’t have nightmares for the entire marriage. Surely he’d be better once the war was over.

“They’re on us!” Anakin yelled, startling her awake from a light doze. “Pull up, Matchstick! Pull up!”

“Anakin!” Padmé nudged him gingerly with her foot. She’d tried shaking him awake once and knew better than to try that again. “You’re having a nightmare. Wake up!” 

He continued to thrash as though trying to evade incoming fire, so she kicked him again. A little harder this time. That seemed to do the trick. He blinked fuzzily at her as if trying to figure out what she was doing there. She scooted closer and offered him a reassuring smile.

“Padmé? Wha?” he slurred, clearly not quite awake. 

“You were having a nightmare,” Padmé explained, gently stroking his hair. “Everything is alright.”

“My life is a nightmare,” he muttered, and dropped back into a thankfully quieter sleep. 

Padmé flopped back down with an exhausted sigh. It was a rare treat to spend the night in bed with her husband, but, she wished he’d do something much more enjoyable to keep her up all night.


	4. It's easier to do nothing rather than something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When breaking in a new Sith apprentice, it's easier to do nothing rather than something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the tumblr prompt Palpatine and "It’s easier to do nothing than it is to do something.” Original post is [here](http://redrikki.tumblr.com/post/182304459184/can-you-do-palpatine-its-easier-to-do-nothing).

Sidious had poured a great deal of time and effort into shaping Maul into the perfect weapon. He had acquired the boy, raised the boy, and trained the boy. He had overseen what he ate, who he saw, and what he learned. Sidious had controlled every aspect of Maul’s life, broken him down and filled him up with rage. As satisfying as it had been to own someone so thoroughly, it was, frankly, exhausting and Sidious had much better things to do with his time.

With Dooku, the Jedi Order had done all the hard work. All Sidious had to do was sit back and pour poison into his ear. It was almost enough to make him wonder why he’d bothered with Maul in the first place when all he’d gotten for his hard work was a particularly skilled thug. It was so much easier to do nothing than it was to do something and infinitely more satisfying when that nothing so richly paid off. Setting his sights on Anakin Skywalker, he knew exactly how he would play this.


	5. Defensive Drills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin deals with bullies in his saber class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt Anakin and "No, it's okay, I lied." Original post is [here](http://redrikki.tumblr.com/post/182372694559/30-with-anakin-pls).

Anakin gritted his teeth and tried to focus on the saber drill instead of the whispers behind him. Parry. Riposte. Parry. Riposte. Over and over. Faster and faster. A defensive drill, the goal was not to score against the training droid, but to keep from being hit as long as possible. None of his fellow padawans had made it past five minutes. Anakin intended to outlast them all.

The whispering got louder as he approached and then passed the five minute mark. Thirteen-year-olds were the meanest people in the galaxy, even the ones raised to show a Jedi’s compassion. Maybe especially those.

“Of course he’s good with a lightsaber, he’s too dumb for anything else.”

“I heard he couldn’t even read.”

“Just a brute.”

“Just a slave.”

With a roar of anger, Anakin lashed out, cutting clean through the training droid’s arms. He had outlasted them all, but he had still failed. They had made him fail. He whirled to face them, chest heaving, his lit saber still in his hand. Something in his expression made the whole class take a half-step back.

“Is there a problem?” Master Drallig asked, his voice low and dangerous.

“No, it’s okay,” Anakin lied, switching off his lightsaber. It wasn’t okay at all, but it wasn’t his place to call out another padawan’s behavior. It never did any good anyway.

Master Dralling studied him with narrowed eyes. “You need to work on your control,” he said cooly. Anakin had outperformed everyone, but there would be no praise for him here.

“Yes, master,” Anakin said, bowing his head.

One of his classmates tittered. Anakin’s grip on his saber became painfully tight, but he didn’t look to see who it was and he didn’t lash out. He would count that as progress.


	6. Why teachers hate you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan struggles to explain something to Anakin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for the prompt Anakin and "when people are mad at it, it's my fault." Original post is [here](http://redrikki.tumblr.com/post/182425423504/could-you-do-9-with-anakin-for-the-john-mulaney).

Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose in what was sure to be a futile attempt to stem the headache building as he listened to Anakin whinge about his day. 

“–And then Master Nodall yelled at me. In front of the whole class!”

Obi-Wan sighed. “Really, Anakin. You must stop antagonizing your teachers.”

Master Nodall wasn’t the first to yell at him, and Obi-Wan doubted she’d be the last. Even the teachers who had managed to keep their tempers had spoken to Obi-Wan about how disruptive the boy was in class. The problem was he asked too many questions. No, he asked too many of the wrong questions. Questions which belied his inability to detach from his past. Questions which struck at the heart of the Jedi and the Republic. Questions which made people uncomfortable.

“I wasn’t antagonizing her! She said that the Order couldn’t waste time fighting slavers in the Outer Rim when the Senate had more important things to do. I just asked if the Jedi were supposed to obey the will of the Force or a bunch of politicians.”

Obi-Wan drew a sharp breath. Those were fighting words if he’d ever heard them. “No wonder she yelled at you.”

Anakin frowned. “So, when people get mad at me, it’s my fault, but when I get mad at people, that’s my fault too?”

“Yes.” That wasn’t right. “No.” There was trap somewhere in that question, but Obi-Wan couldn’t quite puzzle it out. “It—you are responsible for–” He flailed for the right words to explain.

See, that, right there was the problem. Anakin had a distressing knack implying hypocrisy where there was none. It was Anakin’s responsibility to control his temper, just as much as it was Master Nodall’s to control hers, but he had antagonized her, made her question her beliefs. Of course she had gotten mad. And yet, as a Jedi master, she shouldn’t have. Obi-Wan massaged his forehead as his headache came roaring back.

“Oh, go meditate on your behavior,” he snapped and tried not to feel he was failing as a teacher.


	7. Better off Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the Padawan Lost arc, Ahsoka can't help feeling O-Mer and Jinx's masters are better off dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written based on a prompt from cienie-isengardu on tumblr. Original post is [here](http://redrikki.tumblr.com/post/183449241979/cienie-isengardu-replied-to-my-call-for-prompts).

Anakin arrives a few minutes after they touch down with relief in his eyes and apologies on his lips. Master Plo comes with him, but O-Mer and Jinx’s masters don’t. Ahsoka hopes they’re dead. Kalifa’s too.

It’s not malice. She doesn’t blame them for what happened any more than she blames Anakin. It’s just that she remembers the look on Barriss’s face back on Geonosis when she realized it was Anakin who had fought to dig them up, not Luminara. Ahsoka can’t help thinking it would be easier to lose someone you care about than to learn that someone didn’t care that they lost you. If Jinx and O-Mer’s masters died when they were captured, that would explain why no one looked for them.

"I am glad to see you well, Little ‘Soka,” Master Plo says with obvious relief and more than a hint of pride.

Ahsoka accepts his words with a nod. It’s good to see him, but she can’t help thinking that he wouldn’t have even been here to greet her if she and Anakin hadn’t disobeyed orders to rescue him. The Council had been willing to just write him off, but that isn’t what happened here at all. They weren’t abandoned to their fate. They just rescued themselves before anyone else could do it for them. O-Mer and Jinx stand alone waiting for masters that do not come. They’re dead. They have to be. Right?

**Author's Note:**

> I'm [redrikki](http://redrikki.tumblr.com/) on tumblr. Feel free to hit me up with a prompt. No promises on if I'll fill it.


End file.
